Improve Your Bridge Game with Marty Bergen is a Marty Bergen’s Facebook page, where he publishes almost every day a very short and very useful bridge tip. Today we are publishing a few of them, you can find them all if you Click Here
1) Don’t fall in love with your hand.
2) In third seat, you should be very eager to preempt, especially when nonvulnerable. Not only can you preempt with very weak hands but it is also correct to preempt with some minimum opening bids.
3) Dummy has made a splinter bid. A trump lead may stop declarer from ruffing all of his losers in dummy’s short suit.
4) Many players are so eager to win tricks that they forget that it’s usually correct to “lose your losers early.”
5) If partner passes your takeout double of 1 club or 1 diamond, he must have a massive holding in opener’s suit. Partner would like to draw their trumps ASAP, so unless you are void, lead a trump.
6) Ruffing with dummy’s trumps is the key to many hands.
7) When dummy is known to have a short suit, it is usually best to lead a trump.
8) If you’re afraid that a defender might be void in a particular suit, don’t give him the chance to ruff a winner.
9) The best time to preempt is when the opponents have the balance of power. When your RHO passes, the opponents are less likely to have the majority of the strength. In second seat, you should NOT preempt with a questionable hand.
10) Hands with voids win a lot of tricks. When you find a fit, declarer’s void is just as magical as dummy’s.
11) If the Rule of 11 contradicts the cards in view, you can be sure partner has led top of nothing rather than 4th best.
12) Since aces are under-rated, 3 aces should be thought of as 13 points.
13) The only time you can give a signal is when you’re free to do so because you are not involved in competing for the trick.
14) If you’re missing an even number of cards, do not expect them to divide perfectly.